Talk:River Skale Brood

General thoughts on killing the River skale brood

The River skale brood in the cave, in lakeside country, seems to have a large aggro bubble, and will move in to attack the player before they can reach the second broodcaller in the cave. 216.119.178.127 20:16, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

This article is a joke. All that needs to be said is that this skale has a large aggro area (its not just attacking a skale brood nearby) and spams ice spear which can do alot of dmg quickly compared to other creatures in presearing south of the wall. That being said...so do bandit firestarters with flare... Justice 18:44, 26 January 2010 (UTC)

Being more consice will help new players.--Neil2250 18:55, 26 January 2010 (UTC)

So you agree? If so then take a shot at cleaning it up or I can if you would choose not to. Justice 06:44, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

theres a very easy bug to kill him, run to the very back of the cave and you can get into a wall there attacks dont hurt you but yours hurt them just did it on a level 2 ranger

Non-projectile spell kill method

This is a very good idea, particularly for spell-casting characters who aren't very tough. If it turns out that the character can't manage the kill, there is zero danger as the river skale brood can't attack back.

It should be noted that if you use something like Fire Storm and it doesn't kill the river skale brood, then he will move away from the back of the cave to where the Skale Broodcaller stands. --La Visiteuse 07:21, 28 September 2010 (UTC)

It also should be noted, as I have done in the main article, that if you approach the wall coming from Ashford, you are likely to wake up the River Skale Brood and he will head towards the cave entrance to try to find you. He only will get as far as the Skale Broodcaller in the cave, but it's far enough away that you can't kill him through the wall. If, however, you approach from the Devourer cave end of the wall, then, when you wake him up, the River Skale Brood goes nearer to the wall in an attempt to find you.

If you aren't bothered about having all the creatures reset, however, if you wake up the River Skale Brood so that he goes away from the wall, just step over the bridge to the next zone, then step back and try again. --La Visiteuse 14:11, 29 September 2010 (UTC)

I take your point about being useful to newbies, but I fail to understand why the article needs the gory details about what fails to work, as long as it is clear about what does work. I think the paragraph is actually less useful with too much text; it dilutes the very message you wish to convey.  — Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 16:09, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

Because if you don't tell people why something doesn't work, they will think that you are just making a baseless assertion about what they should do. It will sound as if you are just telling them to do something a certain way because that's the way you do it. If, on the other hand, you tell them why something doesn't work, then they will see that you are giving them a helpful hint. You will be helping them to learn how to play more intelligently by giving them the details about how something works rather than just stating things in a do this, don't do this fashion. --La Visiteuse 18:09, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

I should have looked here before doing some editing, but while your idea of teaching new people how to play is admirable, it took me, as a general player, far too long to understand what you were trying to convey. In this case, less is more, in terms of being readable. I'm sure there's concise information you can still add without making it bloated. G R E E N E R 18:29, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

(Edit conflict)

Erm, I disagree that it is always essential to state why things fail. Otherwise, this wiki is full of baseless assertions. We generally don't put down general advice, but leave those things to guides. The edit you reverted says, "any other location allows the Brood to move out of range." That's really all anyone needs to know, IMO.

I agree that we should help people play more intelligently; I think one of the ways we accomplish that is emphasize important concepts, tactics, and strategies. Some details help accomplish that; others do not. So, I think the current revision makes it harder, not easier, to understand how to play better. However, I'll leave things alone until someone else offers an opinion about what they think works. Thanks for taking time to discuss things.  — Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 18:26, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

It is always essential unless the reason for failure is plain staring in the face obvious, which this isn't. Look, I study martial arts. One of the things that all good martial arts teachers do is explain why one should use a particular method and the problems associated with doing it another way. A teacher could just show the method without explaining the theory behind it, but that wouldn't help his students to deal with situations intelligently, particularly when they find themselves having to improvise, and this is important because there is always a chance that someone will attack you in a way not covered in any class. In the same way, if players know why something may fail, if they find themselves in a similar situation where no-one has said anything on the wiki, they might be able to deal with it. Or maybe an update will change the way something in the AI works and, since they will be used to thinking about the theory, they'll be able to cope with it better. Anyway, it's good that we are discussing these things, as you say. --La Visiteuse 09:31, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

Again, I support the principles which you state, but I disagree that the current text follows them. The only thing that people have to know is that, standing in the wrong place, the skale will move out of range. The specific route it takes to move out of range is verbal ornamentation; it does not help people to understand the basics.

When the explanation of what people are supposed to do is shorter than the explanation of what they are not, the principles of good play are lost in the density of the wall of text. If you are unwilling to remove the "don't do this" text, at the very least, separate it from the "yes, do this" section. Thanks.  — Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 15:44, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

Pincer kill method

If two low-level characters want to go after the river skale brood, then if one of them has a non-projectile spell, he could attack through the wall, pinning down the river skale brood while the other character takes care of the Skale Broodcaller and finishes off the river skale brood. First, though, both characters should kill all the skale around the entrance of the cave. This method can help two characters practise co-ordinated attacks, which is very useful when going against the charr. --La Visiteuse 07:21, 28 September 2010 (UTC)

Given the limitations imposed by how you have to approach the wall, both players can kill enough Skale and Devourers to approach the wall from the Devourer cave end and then, run round to Ashford, and kill all the Skale around the mill pond cave entrance. At that point, one of the players should go back, around to the Devourer cave entrance , while the other player waits at the mill pond cave entrance. Ideally, the player at the cave entrance should be the one who has the imp. Once the player at the wall starts his attack, then the other player should go in, kill the Skale Broodcaller and then finish off the River Skale Brood. Better yet, he should attack the Skale Broodcaller then let his imp finish him off while he finishes off the River Skale Brood. While this may sound complicated, this is an excellent exercise in co-oridinated action which will help players later when they go agains the Charr and, especially when they go into post-searing. This learning exercise is exactly what pre-searing is all about: learning how to intelligently use your character despite all sort of limitation. --La Visiteuse 14:12, 29 September 2010 (UTC)

This actually sounds fun. G R E E N E R 18:52, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

Using tricky tactics to take down a level four.. I love it! There should be a quest to kill this guy imo. 110.32.0.26 11:34, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

It is part of a quest for mesmers (Domination Magic (quest)), but in a different location, or were you attempting sarcasm? It's not about a level four creature, it's about practising co-ordinated tactics. It's not the River Skale Brood's level that necessitates these tactics, but rather it's location. Practising skills is what Eden should be all about. At any rate, level isn't everything: the River Skale Brood punches above its level because of its skills. It's certainly the only thing south of the wall I've seen kill a fire imp. --La Visiteuse 12:20, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

I've finally got round to trying this method myself. The River Skale Brood's behaviour was interesting. Here was the set-up. I was playing a level 9 Warrior/Ranger. The other member of my group was playing a level 9 Warrior/Mesmer. Both of us had the same armour. The Warrior/Mesmer only had Conjure Phantasm and didn't have enough points in Illusion Magic to overcome the River Skale Brood's healing ability. Once attacked through the wall, though, the River Skale Brood locked onto the Warrior/Mesmer. He stayed near the wall while I killed his buddy in the cave, then, when I approached him, he ran towards me, out of range of the other character, but then turned back to stand by the wall. The other character hadn't been able to attack him when he ran towards me because he was out of range. In the end, he stood there, letting the Warrior/Mesmer cast another spell on him while I shot him. This is definitely the way to go for lower-level characters if they want to kill him. --La Visiteuse 16:24, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

At Level 9, it probably doesn't matter what technique you use on this particular foe. At L3-4, it often matters which technique or skills you use and whether you team up or not. L9 is good for testing the foe's behavior, but it's not a good baseline for what lower level toons might experience.

I disagree. The River Brood Skale is likely to act the same in a similar situation, that is, where the levels/armour are equal. I still need to test it with unequal armour/levels. But even if the Skale 'breaks' the lock to go after a lower-level or lower amour level character who goes into the cave to fight it, this tactic still gives the character time to kill the other skale in the cave first. If the character then runs towards the wall, so that the Skale is back in range of the other character's attack, then the Skale will still be caught in the pincer. --La Visiteuse 09:29, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

I agree with you that the RSB is the most dangerous single foe outside of Northlands. However, there are lots of reliable strategies to take her down.  — Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 16:37, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

I'm certainly not saying that the pincer method is the only strategy for taking the RSB down. I'm just saying that the pincer method is probably the best one for low-level characters to use. If they can, however, find some other method that works for them, then they should use that instead. --La Visiteuse 09:29, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Farming XP

If you need to gain some XP and aren't concerned about drops, the River Brood Skale is a good one. Just get over to the Devourer cave side of the wall, kill him, then step over the bridge into the next zone, step back and he's reset, ready for another kill. The nice thing is that it's completely safe, which can be a big help for those going for Survivor. --La Visiteuse 09:45, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

This is in pre-searing mate Magamdy 09:59, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

Sure it is, and of course you can't finish Survivor in pre-searing, but if you can find an easy way to earn XP at zero risk, I'd say that's a good thing. Cynique 12:42, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

Quite right, and that's what I meant. If you know you're going for Survivor, it's never too soon to start looking for safe ways to earn XP. If you have patience, you can farm the Plague Worms until you reach 6th level, then move on to the River Brood Skale until you reach 10th level. After that, you can farm the Rogue Bull to 11th. Up to this point, take as few quests as you can. Then, after taking the rest of the quests, move on to post-searing and get someone to run you so that you can farm the the Snow Wurms outside borlis ice station, where you can finish all the levels of the title in nearly complete safety. --La Visiteuse 14:48, 2 October 2010 (UTC)